Rafael Leao's brace finally puts an end to his fall from grace

The first starting XI appearance after 175 days, his first home goals for Milan in 17 months, his first Serie A penalty ever and his first brace since November 2024 - Rafael Leao did all that in a single game on Sunday night, to push AC Milan to a 2-1 home win over Fiorentina and straight to the top of the Serie A table!

And received a deserved standing ovation when he was subbed off.

Although Portugal coach Roberto Martinez sent him back to Milan during the international break because he was allegedly 'not physically fit enough', Max Allegri decided to put him in the lineup and Leao responded instantly with a perfect performance.

The Rossoneri were crippled by injuries and were missing Adrien Rabiot, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christopher Nkunku, Pervis Estupinan, and Ardon Jashari.

This situation left Leao alone in the attack, which didn't pay dividends in the opening half, with 0-0 on the scoreboard. However, the stalemate didn't last long after the break, as Robin Gosens made the most of Mike Maignan's howler to put the visitors in front, 0-1.

And then came Rafael...

Leao cut inside Rolando Mandragora and finished it superbly with the right foot into the far bottom corner from a long distance, surprising David De Gea.

Still, the comeback had its own taste of controversy, as VAR rewarded the hosts with a penalty after a light contact between Parisi and Gimenez. Rafael Leao took the responsibility and buried it low to beat De Gea again, converting his first-ever Serie A penalty.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 7

Saturday

Lecce - Sassuolo 0-0

Pisa - Verona 0-0

Torino - Napoli 1-0 (1-0)

/Simeone 32/

Roma - Inter 0-1 (0-1)

/Bonny 6/

Sunday

Como - Juventus 2-0 (1-0)

/Kempf 4, Paz 79/

Cagliari - Bologna 0-2 (0-1)

/Holm 31, Orsolini 80/

Genoa - Parma 0-0

Atalanta - Lazio 0-0

Milan - Fiorentina 2-1 (0-0)

/Leao 63, 86 pen - Gosens 55/

Monday

21.45: (3.10) Cremonese (3.25) Udinese (2.55)

***odds are subject to change***